Alfa Laval to test renewable methanol fuel-cell systems for marine vessels

Sweden’s Alfa Laval AB (STO:ALFA) will start testing a fuel-cell system based on high-temperature proton exchange membrane (HTPEM) technologies at its facilities in Aalborg, Denmark.

The system, which uses carbon-neutral renewable methanol as fuel, was developed by Danish fuel cell maker Blue World Technologies. Shipping and logistics company Dfds AS (CPH:DFDS), tanker fleet owner Hafnia Ltd (FRA:1OQ) and drilling-rig operator Maersk Drilling A/S will join Blue World and Alfa Laval in the testing.

The installation at the Aalborg centre will focus on exploring the technology’s potential to be used as a source of marine auxiliary power. The test set up will have 200 kW of power, while the fully developed and modular design should be possible to scale up incrementally to a level of 5 MW, the fuel-cell developer said.

The aim of the project is to develop, test and verify a highly efficient fuel-cell solution to eventually provide marine vessels with a realistic alternative to combustion-based systems.

Denmark’s Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program is funding the testing, which is planned to last a year, Blue World said.

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